ISLAMABAD, November 28: The Supreme Court of Pakistan extended on Thursday Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s tenure by six months. It announced the verdict in a petition challenging the three-year extension granted by the government.
The court asked the government to submit an undertaking that Parliament would enact a law on this in six months. In the interim, it extended General Bajwa’s tenure. His tenure was supposed to finish at midnight on Thursday. According to this order, it will now end in May, 2020.
The current appointment of General Qamar Javed Bajwa as COAS shall be subject to the said legislation and shall continue for a period of six months from today, whereafter the new legislation shall determine his tenure and other terms and conditions of service, read the short order.
It directed the government to clearly specify the terms and conditions of service of the COAS through an Act of Parliament and to clarify the scope of Article 243 of the Constitution in this regard.
The court heard the case for six hours on Wednesday. The case was initially filed by the Jurists Foundation but after it asked to withdraw the case, the court decided to take it up itself.
Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel heard the case.
On Tuesday, the court suspended the official notification that extended the army chief’s tenure. Farogh Naseem resigned as federal law minister to represent General Bajwa in the case.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the judges noted that the notification from the president’s office extending General Bajwa’s tenure was an extension, not a reappointment. Attorney-General Anwar Mansoor Khan said the prime minister had recommended a reappointment. The judges quizzed the country’s top law officer on the laws governing the army chief’s appointment and tenure.-NNI
